Whichever way your political ideology lies, there's no doubt that we live in interesting times. A lot of us have opinions on which political figures are qualified to do their jobs -- and which definitely aren't -- but we can probably all agree that if you're going to put someone in charge of, say, cybersecurity, they should probably at least know their way around a computer. Right? Apparently not, if you're the Japanese prime minister, who has recently appointed Yoshitaka Sakurada, 68, as head of the government's cybersecurity office, despite him never having used a computer.

Japanese lawmakers were understandably baffled when, on Wednesday, Sakurada appeared confused when asked some basic technology questions relating to the use of USB drives in nuclear power plants. "I don't know the details well. So how about having an expert answer your question if necessary?" the man who is supposed to be the expert said. He added that as he has been running his own business since the age of 25, he simply orders his employees or secretaries to use a computer when necessary. "I don't type on a computer."

his isn't the first time Sakurada has caused controversy. He's also overseeing the 2020 Olympicsin Tokyo, with Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun commenting that he has a "knack for giving baffling replies", and that his responses to questions about Olympic preparations "showed a stunning lack of understanding of basic issues concerning the event."

Of course, his comments are a huge embarrassment for Japan -- a country widely regarded as being one of the most technologically innovativein the world -- and do nothing to restore anyone's faith in the political system. But also, they bring a reassuring sense of inevitability to the politically despairing: no-one knows what's going on, satire doesn't exist anymore, and the end is surely nigh.

]]>Items in the NewsGaryQhttps://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?36174-Japan-s-new-cybersecurity-minister-admits-he-s-never-used-a-computerMissing link -No Not Trump LOLhttps://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?36168-Missing-link-No-Not-Trump-LOL&goto=newpost
Tue, 13 Nov 2018 09:58:22 GMTI am befuddled by this video from 60 minutes Australia
I won’t even make any comments. Watch and be the judge...
...I am befuddled by this video from 60 minutes Australia
I won’t even make any comments. Watch and be the judge...

Seemingly pointless scientific research can lead to extraordinary discoveries, says physicist Suzie Sheehy. In a talk and tech demo, she shows how many of our modern technologies are tied to centuries-old, curiosity-driven experiments -- and makes the case for investing in more to arrive at a deeper understanding of the world.

Note: I have long made the case that encouraging and funding only hypothesis-driven research or only applied research is limiting scientists to explore only those areas which are already known but previous research. If we apply this approach rigidly, this means we can never discover anything truly new except by accident or misadventure. Some of our greatest discoveries have come from purely exploratory research, exploring areas about which nothing is known, but that is not the approach we teach to graduate students, especially in the human or brain sciences. I think the topic of this TED Talk, "curiosity research", underscores that. ~ David Baxter
]]>Items in the NewsDavid Baxterhttps://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?36152-The-case-for-curiosity-research-or-exploratory-researchRecord breaking momenthttps://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?36151-Record-breaking-moment&goto=newpost
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 09:27:37 GMTJust when you thought a record was almost physically impossible to break...
Montreal Canadiens pulled it off Thursday 2 goals scored 2 seconds...Just when you thought a record was almost physically impossible to break...

]]>Items in the NewsGaryQhttps://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?36151-Record-breaking-momenthttps://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?36147-US-Free-credit-freezes-are-here&goto=newpost
Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:28:41 GMTI just did it this morning in less than a half hour (for all three credit bureaus):
Free credit freezes are here...I just did it this morning in less than a half hour (for all three credit bureaus):

Free credit freezes and year-long fraud alerts are here, starting September 21st, thanks to a new federal law. Here’s what you should know:

Security freezes, also known as credit freezes, restrict access to your credit file, making it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. Starting September 21, 2018, you can freeze and unfreeze your credit file for free. You also can get a free freeze for your children who are under 16. And if you are someone’s guardian, conservator or have a valid power of attorney, you can get a free freeze for that person, too.

How will these freezes work? Contact all three of the nationwide credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you request a freeze online or by phone, the agency must place the freeze within one business day. If you request a lift of the freeze, the agency must lift it within one hour. If you make your request by mail, the agency must place or lift the freeze within three business days after it gets your request. You also can lift the freeze temporarily without a fee.

Don’t confuse freezes with locks. They work in a similar way, but locks may have monthly fees. If you want a free freeze guaranteed by federal law, then opt for a freeze, not a lock...

2018 was the worst year on record for wildfires in B.C. In this Aug. 15, 2018 photo, Verne Tom photographs a wildfire burning along a logging road approximately 20 kilometres southwest of Fort St. James. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Monika Willner had only five minutes to pack her family's pets and precious items, before fleeing the wildfire that raged in their backyard.

The fire still haunts her two months later.

"I suffer from bad dreams and nightmares, waking up at night, screaming, seeing the fire," she said.
Though her family escaped safely, and their rental home was untouched by flame, the fire that swept through their uninsured property near Burns Lake, B.C., on Aug. 9, 2018 exacted a heavy price.

They lost a $25,000 car her son was restoring, beekeeping equipment, and her husband's carpentry tools. But that wasn't the worst of it.

"Honestly, the physical loss wasn't as bad as the effects on your mental health," Willner said.

"I still can't go back there," she said about the house where her husband still lives. "I moved out of the place."

As Canadians cope with more catastrophic weather events, and the long-term effects of climate change gradually intensify, mental health experts say more Canadians will be afflicted by a psychological phenomenon known as "ecological grief."

"It's the grief that's felt in relation to either experienced or anticipated ecological loss, whether it's due to acute environmental issues or long, chronic, creeping changes," said Ashlee Cunsolo, director of the Labrador Institute at Memorial University.

"We [need to] consider climate policy within the framework of ecological grief, and within the framework of mental health and all of these other losses that are often hidden and hard to account for."

Understanding eco-grief
Consolo became acutely aware of ecological grief in 2008 while she was part of a team that interviewed 100 people in Ringolet, N.L., during a study of the effects of global warming in the Arctic.

Instead of a singular event like flood or drought, the Inuit have faced the realities of climate change slowly over time.

As they explained how melting sea ice had hurt their ability to hunt, Consolo says everyone interviewed spoke of the impact the changing climate was having on their mental health, with increased anxiety, sadness, anger, grief and loss.

"One of the elders said, 'We are people of the sea ice and if there's no more sea ice, how do we be people of the sea ice?'" Consolo recalled.

"That's such a profound existential question, and it's a question resonating around the world as things shift."

The emotional and psychic toll of ecological grief (also termed "solastagia" by philosopher Glenn Albrecht) is an expanding field of inquiry among both climate scientists and mental health professionals.

There is real grief for the loss not only of possessions, but the changing landscape that people are experiencing. ~ Katie Hayes

The research suggests climate-related ecological losses trigger grief experiences in multiple ways, including people grieving for lost landscapes, ecosystems, species, or places that carry personal or collective meaning.

"Ecological grief can include a vast spectrum, whether it's specific things like eco-anxiety related to our environment, or PTSD after experiencing an extreme weather event," said Katie Hayes, a PhD candidate at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Distancing climate change
Hayes is studying mental health in High River, Alta., in the wake of the devastating flood in 2013 that claimed the lives of three people, forced the town's evacuation, and caused billions of dollars in damage.

"The emotional impacts that [the flooding] still has on residents five years later demonstrates there is real grief for the loss, not only of possessions, but the changing landscape that people are experiencing," she said.

Wildfires destroyed a $25,000 car Willner's son was restoring and the family's beekeeping equipment. (Submitted by Monika Willner)

In High River, Hayes found that many residents separate the flood from climate change, instead describing it as a freak weather event.

"There's this real wanting to distance from that because they've experienced just such an intense hazard," she said.

"They don't want to know it can happen again."

Hayes suggests there's often an infusion of mental health resources to a community in the immediate aftermath of a weather disaster, but that long-term mental health care will be needed to address ongoing ecological grief.

"The triggers and timings for when you can experience eco-grief or loss or post-traumatic stress disorder, it doesn't end after two years," she said.

Willner has nightmares since fire ravaged her backyard last summer. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

After the wildfire in Burns Lake, B.C. this summer, Monika Willner says it didn't occur to her to seek counselling and she's still struggling with trauma.

"There's always the thought in the back of your head, 'What can happen next?'" she said. "Seeing lightning, or every little thing which was normal previously, right now it's a danger and it scares the heck out of you."

While Willner remains displaced from her home, she's encouraged by her community banding together to prepare for the next forest fire catastrophe.

"We know it will get drier because of climate change. What do you do? You just prepare yourself and try to to be safe."
]]>Items in the NewsDavid Baxterhttps://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?36123-Ecological-Grief-The-mental-health-cost-of-climate-change